Videotron acquires business fibre operator Fibrenoire

Quebec-based quad-play operator Videotron has acquired Fibrenoire, a specialist in business fibre-optic connectivity services, for CAD125 million (USD88.6 million), the cableco announced in a press release yesterday. Fibrenoire connects more than a thousand business customers in the Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa and Toronto areas over a fibre-optic network spanning more than 4,500km. Videotron’s Business Solutions division is an integrated provider of business telecommunications solutions to more than 125,000 clients, including internet access services, network solutions, fixed/mobile telephone services and data hosting via its fibre-optic, coaxial cable and LTE networks. Benjamin Desmarais, president of Fibrenoire, said: ‘[The takeover by] Videotron will give us access to financial resources, technological depth and a fibre-optic network of more than 30,000km available across Quebec. Those assets will enable us to better serve business customers.’ Videotron has acquired all the shares held by Fibrenoire’s founding shareholders and the majority shareholder, Novacap TMT, a buyout fund that specialises in tech, media and telecom. Fibrenoire is now an independent subsidiary of Videotron, with 60 employees remaining at its Montreal headquarters.